May 30, 2020
All professional athletes
eventually face the same challenge: when to retire and what to do
after retirement. For the most part, an athlete’s career is limited
in time because of the physical demands of job. Lawyers on the
other hand do not face these constraints. There are many lawyers
who practice well into their 70’s or 80’s and some who never choose
to retire. But for many law firms and for many law firm
partners, this is not an optimal strategy. Healthy
businesses need a healthy succession plan and after 40 years in
practice, many lawyers are ready for some sort of change.
As the pandemic has caused many law firms and partners to rethink
their priorities, the issue of what to do with senior partners has
become more timely. Firms are already under a lot of under a lot of
financial stress. A lack of succession planning only adds to
this.
In this episode, I am pleased to welcome back Larry Stybel of
Stybel Peabody. At the beginning of the year, before the
pandemic became a reality for most of us, Larry and I spoke about
finding happiness in the practice of law. This time, Larry
and I discuss the challenges that seniority presents to both law
firms and to aging partners.
For over 40 years, Larry has been providing outplacement, executive search and leadership coaching to law firms and corporations. He co-authors a regular column on leadership and career management for PSYCHOLOGY TODAY. He also co-authored the book Navigating the Waterfall: Your Guide to Job Search and Career Management. Stybel Peabody received the "Best in Class" Award in Outplacement four times from the Massachusetts Lawyers’ Weekly Reader Preference Survey.
I met Larry and his wife and business partner, Maryanne Peabody, 20 years ago when I was starting my own recruiting and coaching business. I was very pleased to reconnect with him last year through my business networking group ProVisors. I have really appreciated the insights Larry has been able to share with me about my own career. Larry brings years of experience in talent management and career success.